::: bisonium.com :::

That's right boys and girls.  Virtual PC is no longer the only game in town for running Windows or Linux on your Mac.  I have written about VMware in previous posts and what we have all been waiting for is about to arrive.  VMware has announced a beta for their product on a Mac.  This is HUGE news for the Apple community.  Microsoft has not announced officially (that I am aware of) that they will be porting VPC to the Intel platform and that has a lot of people concerned to say the least.  Even we Mac folk need to run Windows from time to time, and now more than ever, we are starting to see more options like Parallels and VMware step up to the table.  I for one am excited about this and can't wait to check out VMware for the Mac.  I am really hoping it runs Vista once it ships from Redmond.  Don't miss out on the beta, go sign up ASAP!

Technorati Tags: Mac Tech Tips, OS X, Virtualization, Windows

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those of you Mac-toting digerati that have a few of those friends or family using a PC (you know who you are), here's a cool little hint on how to use Google's new Google Talk service via iChat.  Hint: it uses that Jabber capability in iChat some of you have been wondering about.  This tip only works on OS X v10.4 "Tiger"...

[ Google Talk via iChat ]

Technorati Tags: Mac Tech Tips, OS X, Google, Chat

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Virtual PC 7.0 (#2): Confirmed problem with more than 2 GB of RAM, workaround; other issues:

Confirmed Problem with more than 2 GB of RAM, workaround By far the most widely reported, and serious issue with Virtual PC 7.0 is a repeatable crash caused by having more than 2 GB of RAM

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:18 PM | Permalink

Install a system-wide GMail status notifier:

For all those who have GMail accounts and don't use FireFox (i.e. you can't use this hint), there's a free little utility available called GMailStatus. This works just like the "system tray" notifier for PCs that will display...

Posted by Frank Bisono at 8:39 PM | Permalink

How to move your stuff easily from Windows PC to Apple Mac:

Heads up Mac newbies....you need NOT spend $50 on this software to move your PC files to your nice new Mac. A simple ethernet cable and a little know-how is all you need.

-----0-----

Windows users, frustrated with patches for patches that patch patches, service packs that break their programs, rampant virus and worm attacks, spyware and adware polluting their PCs, the counterintuitive Windows user interface, waiting forever for the stripped-down 'Longhorn,' and more, are now looking to upgrade to new Apple Macintosh personal computers running the latest version of the world's most advanced operating system, Mac OS X.

If you're thinking about upgrading to Mac or just...

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:56 PM | Permalink

CUPS "forgetting" root password?:

CUPS (accessible via a Web interface: http://127.0.0.1:631/printers), Mac OS X's built-in printing architecture, will not allow you to access printer settings unless a root account is enabled with

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:35 PM | Permalink

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:44 AM | Permalink

Print to a missing Windows shared printer in 10.3.5:

Have you had the problem where a Windows shared printer couldn't be seen in the Windows Printing list? After much research and trial and error, I finally managed to successfully print from OS X 10.3.5 to such a Windows shared...

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:46 AM | Permalink

How to Launch Apple Remote Desktop on a Powerbook

Apple Remote Desktop has been getting tons of positive reviews all over the web. It indeed is the slickest VNC you'll find, with complete OSX control over remote machines and VNC control over PCs.
[studio2f]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 8:22 PM | Permalink

Apple issues revised security update

Apple has released a revised version of last week's Security Update 2004-09-07, which fixes problems with Safari & FTP server in the original security update. The new update is now available via the Software Update panel and can be installed over the previous update.
[MacMegasite]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:06 PM | Permalink

Create a customized look for disk images in 10.3

Here is the method I usually use to create a disk image with customization for icon placement and size, default window size, background images, etc. These are the steps needed for Disk Utility in Panther, but you should be ab...
[Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:47 PM | Permalink

I teach music tech and digital audio at the University level and have never had much use for iTunes, as it seems to me to be designed mainly for teenagers' CD collections. But a colleague showed me this trick, and I was so fl... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 9:22 PM | Permalink

Did you know that you can use speech to activate Exposé in Windows, Apps, and Desktop modes? You can even use speech to switch to Applications in Exposé for "all windows" and "Application windows" mode. Disable the Exposé ac... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 2:35 PM | Permalink

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:18 AM | Permalink

I got my new 4G iPod yesterday and immediately tried to get my mail into the notes folder. So I looked around the net and found the Mail to ipod script [use Safari to view nicely formatted source] from From Concentrate Softwa... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:41 AM | Permalink

Unlock the potential built into your Mac's OEM, onboard ATI graphics [Insanely Great Mac]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:18 PM | Permalink

Probably this is something that every Mac owner learns in kindergarten, but just in case someone else got through school without it, here it is:

I had a Toast image (with the file extension .toast) that 10.3 Disk Utility wou... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 4:34 PM | Permalink

SecuritasIP lets you configure Mac OS X as a VPN client to an appropriate router. [MacInTouch]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 9:45 AM | Permalink

For this of you who didn't know, as of today AOL has opened its mail system to IMAP access. just use imap.aol.com (inbound) and smtp.aol.com (outbound) from Mail (or your preferred IMAP-capable email client) and you're all se... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:23 PM | Permalink

I was having a problem with the spinning beach ball and slow page loads in Safari, and after searching a bunch of forums, found two things that seemed to help:Delete all your autofill entries from time to time. do this by go... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:47 AM | Permalink

Whether you need to administer lots of computers in the workplace or the classroom, Apple Remote Desktop will make your job easier. Here's a walkthrough of its setup and basic operations. [O'Reilly MacDevCenter.com]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:41 AM | Permalink

Tip/Trick for Burning in iDVD to External DVD Burners [AccelerateYourMac News Headlines]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:15 PM | Permalink

I have too many email accounts: a few with my ISP, one .Mac, and a few with my web hosting service. Some are used for web business, others for support email, and others for personal email. When I create a New email, Mail pick... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:58 PM | Permalink

Mac OS X: Keyboard shortcuts offers common Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts. [Apple]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 2:38 PM | Permalink

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:07 AM | Permalink

The macosxhints Rating:[Score: 9 out of 10]Developer: Research Systems Unix Group / [Product Page]

Price: Free Fugu is a freeware GUI front-end to the UNIX sftp, scp, and ssh protocols. Of these, the reason I use it most of... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:34 PM | Permalink

20 Troubleshooting Steps for OS X

So your OS X Mac isn't working quite right. What should you do? Here's a list of 20 basic steps to try.

FIRST AID 01 Restart 02 Check/fix the filesystem 03 Make sure you're not running ou... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:06 PM | Permalink

After scouring the net for about six hours I came across this extremely useful tool which is of great help when trying to transfer mail from Outlook on Windows to Mail.app. It's called MailRelayer and acts as an IMAP server f... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:05 PM | Permalink

Stuck without a Superdrive? Tired of dealing with iMovie/iDVD and its mandatory .dv file format? Need to get your DVD done quickly? Then you've come to the right place. Today, I'll show you how to make a quick and simple DVD using ANY DVD burner and ANY Quicktime-supported file format.

Join us for Power User Monday.

Like Pixels? Check out MacDesign [MacMerc]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 9:32 AM | Permalink

[MacSlash]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:11 AM | Permalink

"With the release of Panther, you can use your FireWire port for Internet sharing using a technology known as IP over FireWire (previously available for download as preview release). IP over FireWire essentially allows IP protocols-based services (such as HTTP, FTP, SSH, etc.) to be used over the FireWire connection. This means that you can use your FireWire port much like your Ethernet port. For example, you have one Mac connected to the Internet via AirPort, and you want to allow... [MacDailyNews]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:58 AM | Permalink

As annoying as junk mail is, there's something even worse about the move to HTML spam. If you display a piece of spam that uses HTML, the images aren't embedded in the email itself, your mail client goes out to the net and loads the images from the webserver associated with the spam originator. The URL's in the spam encode info such as your email address so they know that the email got through and that a person actually loaded - this allows them to put a big check box by your name in the active database.

Panther Mail to the rescue with two important features. First of all, when we detect that an email message is spam, Mail refuses to load any external URLs to make sure that the originating site never gets any hint that the message was received.

Second of all, you can instruct Mail to always refuse to load HTML images and objects so you can decided exactly when Mail talks to external websites.

It's sad that any of this is necessary, but Mail takes important steps to help preserve your privacy on the net. [Ken Bereskin's "Panther" Weblog]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:55 AM | Permalink

In many cases, the functionality users are looking for has simply been moved or renamed. Below are a few of the most commonly "missed" utilities; this is not an exhaustive list, but it should solve some mysteries for a few users. (MacFixIt via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:22 AM | Permalink

Mail has a ton of great new improvements. It's an app that has turned out really great in Panther and one of it's subtle new features (many more big ticket ones to come in future posts) is the ability to recall the replies or forwards of an email in your inbox with a simple click of the reply or forward icon!

Just click or icon for any mesage in your Inbox and if Mail still has the reply or forward around in your Sent folder, it will open it up so you can see exactly what you said, to whom, and when.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:01 AM | Permalink

If you have Quicktime Pro, it is easy to play a movie as your desktop. Play a movie using Quicktime as fullscreen, then press F11, which shows the desktop. The fullscreen movie slides up to reveal the desktop, and than you ... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:28 PM | Permalink

MOTU released a Digital Performer 4.11 Update of its audio/MIDI workstation software that adds full compatibility with Mac OS X 10.3 Panther plus a utility for configuring synthesizer expansion card patch names and other changes. The company also released updated drivers for all MOTU FireWire audio interfaces and PCI audio interfaces to add full compatibility with Mac OS X 10.3 Panther, plus new features, such as input/output names, control surface support, and default stereo input/output.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:03 AM | Permalink

Mac OS X Hints has a news item on how to use AppleScript to make it easier to share your Mac's Internet connection with your mobile phone over Bluetooth. A reader wrote AppleScripts to connect and reconnect your phone to the Internet through your Bluetooth-enabled Macintosh. [macscripter.net news]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:29 PM | Permalink

Do you want to control your Mac, or one that you're responsible for, from a remote location? If you're running Mac OS X, you can take advantage of a variety of built-in Unix and AppleScript tools to control your computer from afar. Harold Martin shows you how. [O'Reilly MacDevCenter.com]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:27 PM | Permalink

This hint combines two other hints I read here on MacOSXHints.com. We have an iMac, largely used by my children, but upon which I have an admin user account. I can also imagine situations where for reasons of business or per... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:42 AM | Permalink

There's a useful tip for Safari users doing the rounds just now. If you use an online banking system such as Nat West, you'll often find that you have to use Internet Explorer or one of the last releases of Netscape to logon. This is invariably down to the some over-zealous browser detection code put in by the web developers who have built the system.

This is generally put in place because the system was probably developed with only the main browsers in mind (IE), with the developers believing that the security and functionality of the system couldn't be trusted in anything other than IE 5 or 6. However, quite often you'll find that standards compliant browsers such as Safari and Camino will cope admirably.

The 'hack' allows you to switch on the Debug menu in Safari, from where you can change 'User Agent' to Internet Explorer 5.2 (or anything you wish). The User Agent string is read by the browse detection code, so you can fool the code into thinking you're using a 'safe' browser, and do your online banking without leaving Safari.

Enabling the Debug menu is not just good for changing the User Agent string however, it's full of useful information. For example, web designers and developers will find the 'Show DOM tree' item useful, power users can access the 'Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts', though I can't see how the item 'Go to about:blank Soon' would be useful...

The hack involves opening a Terminal window and typing :

defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugIncludeMenu 1

Then quit Terminal and boot up Safari.

{ via macosxhints and MacUser } [xlab : a mac os x weblog]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:59 AM | Permalink